The present invention relates to an optoelectronics device and a method of producing the same. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a technique for electrically connecting together a light-receiving element and a lead which serves as an output terminal of the element, for example, a technique which may effectively be utilized for a semiconductor laser device having an auto power control (APC) function and a method of producing such laser device.
Semiconductor laser devices of various structures have been developed for being utilized as light sources for optical communication and light sources for information processing devices such as digital audio disks and video disks. For example, semiconductor laser devices such as those described in the Sept. 14, 1981, issue of "Nikkei Electronics," Nikkei McGraw-Hill, pp. 138 to 152 are known as light sources for information processing devices such as digital audio disks and video disks.
This type of semiconductor laser device is generally arranged such that a semiconductor laser element (laser chip) is rigidly secured through a submount to a heat sink provided at the center of the principal surface of a stem, and the intensity of the laser beam is monitored by a light-receiving element which is mounted on the principal surface of the stem. The laser beam which is to be actually used is emitted to the outside of the package from a window which is provided in the ceiling of a cap mounted on the principal surface of the stem, the window having a transparent member put therein.
When a semiconductor laser device is applied to a light source for an information processing device or a light transmitter, an appropriate bias is applied to the semiconductor laser to drive the laser at a level and an amplitude which are conformable with an electric signal which is input thereto from a previous stage, thereby generating an optical output corresponding to the input electric signal. Another important function in such operation is auto power control (APC) which prevents variations in the current value at which the semiconductor laser is desired to oscillate which variations would otherwise be caused by changes in temperature and changes with passage of time, thereby allowing a constant optical output to be generated. APC is generally effected in such a manner that a part of the laser beam emitted from the semiconductor laser is received by a monitor light receiver, and the output of the light receiver is compared with a preset reference value to obtain a signal indicating a difference therebetween which is then employed to feedback-control the bias current and the signal current.
Semiconductor laser devices of the type having such APC function involve the concern that the far field pattern may be disordered by the laser beam which is reflected from the light-receiving surface of the light-receiving element to emerge from the window in the cap. In order to prevent such disorder of the far field pattern, there has been developed a technique in which the light-receiving element is slantingly secured to the stem so that any laser beam which is reflected from the light-receiving surface will not reach the window in the cap. This technique is described in the specification of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 148483/1980.